August 1, 2016
The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced a settlement in a Pennsylvania housing discrimination case involving a loan applicant on maternity leave.
According to the press release on the HUD official site, “…a Conciliation Agreement with Philadelphia-based Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania and Providence, Rhode Island-based Citizens Bank, collectively known as Citizens Bank, settling allegations that the bank violated the Fair Housing Act when it told a female applicant that she would need to return to work before her application for a home equity line of credit could be approved.”
Fair Housing Act laws state that it is illegal to discriminate against borrowers, “in the terms, conditions, or privileges associated with the sale or rental of a dwelling on the basis of familial status”, which includes denying a mortgage loan or mortgage insurance because the applicant is pregnant, on family leave, etc.
“The fact that a woman is on maternity leave should never be the sole reason that she is denied a loan,” said Gustavo Velasquez, HUD’s Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. “HUD is committed to continuing to enforce fair housing laws and to ensuring that lenders understand their responsibility to treat all qualified applicants the same, even those that are on parental leave.”
This discrimination case began when, according to the HUD official site, “a woman filed a complaint alleging that Citizens Bank discriminated against her based on her familial status when it delayed the processing of her loan application because she was on maternity leave, despite the fact that she was receiving her full pay”.
Under the terms of the reconciliation agreement, Citizens Bank has agreed to a number of steps including a $40,000 payment to the victim of the discrimination. Citizens Bank also agrees to, “provide fair housing training to its staff, and adopt a parental leave policy making it clear that all loan products are to be made available, regardless of an applicant’s parental status.” The company also agreed to make a large donation to a HUD-approved Fair Housing advocacy group.
In cases like these, sometimes the only thing that prevents further discrimination is a complaint filed by the victims. Without such complaints, HUD may be unaware that the illegal discrimination is happening.
The HUD official site urges those who feel their Fair Housing Act rights have been violated to report such discrimination immediately. According to HUD.gov, “People who believe they have experienced discrimination may file a complaint by contacting HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity at (800) 669-9777 (voice) or (800) 927-9275 (TTY). Housing discrimination complaints may also be filed at www.hud.gov/fairhousing or by downloading HUD’s free housing discrimination mobile application, which can be accessed through Apple and Android devices.”
Joe Wallace has been specializing in military and personal finance topics since 1995. His work has appeared on Air Force Television News, The Pentagon Channel, ABC and a variety of print and online publications. He is a 13-year Air Force veteran and a member of the Air Force Public Affairs Alumni Association. He was Managing editor for www.valoans.com for (8) years and is currently the Associate Editor for FHANewsblog.com.
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